Episode 135 - Solarbabies: LIVE!

[JulyDiaz 2797]

John Mulaney (Oh, Hello) joins Paul, June, and Jason to discuss the insane 1986 science fiction film Solarbabies. Recorded LIVE from the world famous Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles, they'll cover everything important including rollerskating in the future, Jami Gertz' bangs, and robots programmed to enjoy. Plus, we witness the first ever video 2nd Opinion. Don’t forget to check out Blake Harris’ Oral History of Solarbabies over at www.slashfilm.com! Get yourself a BB-8 “What Is Its Mission?” T-shirt or Tote Bag over at http://howdidthisgetmade.bigcartel.com/ Set your DVRs for Party Over Here, a new FOX sketch comedy show from The Lonely Island and Paul starring Nicole Byer, Jessica McKenna, and Alison Rich. It airs Saturdays at 11 pm. People of the internet: Watch Paul in Fresh off the Boat on ABC. Awhile ago, Paul and Rob Huebel did a comedy special on a 60 foot glass bus that traveled around LA. Now you’ll be able to see it. Go to https://itun.es/us/3M4J9 now to buy it! You can also see Jason in Transparent on Amazon! Also, check out June in Grace and Frankie available on Netflix, and in all the episodes of NTSF:SD:SUV:: on HULU for free, and Jason in The Dictator (he’s still in it!).

[bonjourjamie 61]

Thank God I watched the movie before listening to the ep because I'd have been utterly lost trying to follow this. Hell, it was still a struggle. Great ep, and John Mulaney was fantastic! So good to hear June talking about hair again, too.

[ChunkStyle 1160]

Fantastic episode. 100% justified watching Solarbabies. In fact I'd say this episode can balance out at least 2.5 viewings of Solarbabies. With June's delivery of "It was behind a dam." worth at least 0.5 viewings by itself.

 

OK can we talk about the sport of skateball for a second? Without knowing the rules I was just thinking why are these assholes skating around and around and not moving towards the easily accessible goal right in the center of the court? Charles Durning's voice over exposition should have gone more like this. "Is Bodhi real? I don't know. But I do know that in skateball the ball has to make 3 complete circuits around the edge of the rink before it can be scored." Then fade into the action.

 

Also the orphanage seems to be the easiest place to escape in movie history. The Strictor seems to actually care about stopping kids from escaping. And the ins and outs of the place seem to be well known to every character in this movie. But putting a lock on something or posting a guard is a bridge too far.

[bonjourjamie 61]

I wanted to mention that the actor playing the lead sand Nazi - Captain Pleather or whatever his name was - also played Duncan Idaho in Dune, which came out just 2 years before Solarbabies. So you could potentially argue (although you probably shouldn't) that this dry, dystopian future Earth exists in the same realm as Arrakis. Or maybe the actor just really liked sand.

[Elektra Boogaloo 3371]

I am so glad Paul mentioned this is a Brooksfilm because when I saw that logo come up, I was deeply, deeply confused. Like maybe he was in the desert shooting "Blazing Saddles" and thought, "roller skates would be awesome in the desert."

 

Mulaney, you and I have a beef. How dare you slam Peter DeLuise. He was MY GUY on 21 JUMP STREET. I only went to see the recent movie because Johnny Depp insisted he be in it with him. And my fave thing about that movie is that those two characters are supposed to be undercover and they legit have another actor playing Johnny Depp (because they really old had him for a day or whatever). But Peter DeLuise is straight up just there in all the scenes the bikers are in. He's basically an extra.

 

Also I wondered if he got this part because Dom DeLuise was always in Mel Brooks movies. So when he made this he was like, "damnit, someone get me a DeLuise!" Because his character is not really that defined. Or maybe they wanted three white guys with mullets so we could never tell who was who. Especially when they are in their uniforms at the climax. I was like, "how will we know who does what in the fight?" No problem, the bad guys defeat themselves.

 

I was confused about the title SOLARBABIES. There is a scene where the Nazi asks why they are called Solarbabies. But then I thought there would be a reveal about why they chose that name. Like oh we are children of the sun or they think the sun is the scariest thing? I don't know but it is NEVER explained. I thought this movie was going to be about legit babies. I demand an explanation.

 

The character names were weird too. I read on IMDb that they were all after mythological figures. So I thought "okay, Jason and the Argonauts... Maybe Br'r Rabbit.." But Metron? Tug? What?!

[bonjourjamie 61]

About the Mel Brooks connection - IMDb states that the director of Solarbabies was the choreographer on several Mel Brooks films, including Blazing Saddles (so he probably the "I'm Tired" number, one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history) and History of the World. He, um, should not have strayed from choreography.

[pscudese 701]

I'm very shocked that the amazing panel did not discuss the insane torture bed scene, especially since it felt similar to the "Barb Wire"/Boob Torture bed.

 

I was 8 years old when Solarbabies came out on VHS and based on the saccharine-esque movie title and cover art, my parents were totally fine with me renting it to keep me occupied while they had dinner guests one night. Needless to say, when the torture bed was introduced with the fire ants... it bugged me a bit (pun intended), but I screamed my fucking head off when the Arian kid watched his "flesh fall away from his body!" WHAT THE FUCK!!!

 

This scene has always stayed with me, so much so that when I re-watched it for this episode... I literally closed one eye and turned my head to avoid seeing it in its entirety. I consider this scene to be on par with the same fear-inducing insanity, as when we saw the Nazi's face melt at the end of Indiana Jones.

 

I guess I just need to remember for future film experiences, if I'm watching a post apolcolytic society and there is a nazi-esque group... someone's skin is going to get seriously fucked up.

 

 

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

About the Mel Brooks connection - IMDb states that the director of Solarbabies was the choreographer on several Mel Brooks films, including Blazing Saddles (so he probably the "I'm Tired" number, one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history) and History of the World. He, um, should not have strayed from choreography.

 

Given the direction of Solarbabies I'm thinking more he was the choreographer for the French Mistake number.

[pscudese 701]

Solarbabies came out in '86, the same year as "Platoon" did which starred Johnny Depp.

A year later, "21 Jump Street"comes on air, thus giving us the great comedic duo of Hanson and Penhall.

 

I'm wondering if during the down time on set, did Peter and Johnny exchanged war stories about the intense film environment of the previous year?

 

Johnny: "Putting aside the intense humidity of filming in the Philippines, the pressure of communicating so much horror these brave men experienced during the Vietnam War was almost insurmountable. There was such amazing talent in front and behind the camera, that I spent many sleepless nights pacing my room thinking I would not deliver the next day."

 

Peter: "It was really hard at times to skate when the road we were on turned a bit sandy."

 

 

 

 

Run Peter, Run!!!

 

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[ChunkStyle 1160]

I thought the purpose of Tiretown was to break down tires back into their fundamental components. Which would be used for....something. But regardless Tiretown seemed like a worse place to be than the orphanage. The movie never spent the time (or budget) to show the location of the ruling class and put it in contrast to the rest of the shitty waterless world.

[Elektra Boogaloo 3371]

 

Given the direction of Solarbabies I'm thinking more he was the choreographer for the French Mistake number.

You mean the greatest musical number to ever feature Dom DeLuise?

 

 

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

I think that everything I THOUGHT I remembered from this movie really came from "Tank Girl".

[NathanGordon 1096]

About the Mel Brooks connection - IMDb states that the director of Solarbabies was the choreographer on several Mel Brooks films, including Blazing Saddles (so he probably the "I'm Tired" number, one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history) and History of the World. He, um, should not have strayed from choreography.

Yeah, he actually received a Tony nomination for his choreography on Broadway, so the guy was no slouch -- which begs the question of why the skating sequences weren't more exciting or interesting!

 

Funny to hear June go negative on lacrosse, she rarely has a negative word to say about anything, especially physicality.

[jarrycanada 2483]

 

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[Jillybean 104]

Oh man, Jason was on FIRE during this episode. I laughed so hard. He's always super funny and smart, but he was extra hilarious this time. My fave was when the hosts were talking about the sweetness of the video review during second opinions, and Jason said "I feel very differently. I feel like a doctor could diagnose a neurological disorder with this video."

 

And John Mulaney is a great guest!! My dream would be for John Mulaney to come back along with Bill Hader but Bill Hader would have to host as Stefon. Amazing!!!

 

Also, I just want to thank Earwolf for this podcast, and the people on this forum for being so funny and clever. I am a Prince super fan and listening to this episode is the best I've felt since last Thursday. Thank you for that.

[Elektra Boogaloo 3371]

Aww man I've had the Jump Street theme song running through my head all day now. I blame HDTGM for this.

 

Yeah, he actually received a Tony nomination for his choreography on Broadway, so the guy was no slouch -- which begs the question of why the skating sequences weren't more exciting or interesting!

Oh wow. That is odd. Like the scene where they jump over the hole in the bridge kind of reminded me of Power Rangers or something. It was not super engaging. I guess the opening skateball scene wasn't that bad. At least I don't remember thinking it was terrible. I'm not going to rewatch it. Because you can't make me.

[tomspanks 9039]

This scene has always stayed with me, so much so that when I re-watched it for this episode... I literally closed one eye and turned my head to avoid seeing it in its entirety. I consider this scene to be on par with the same fear-inducing insanity, as when we saw the Nazi's face melt at the end of Indiana Jones.

 

My terror-inducing childhood movie scene is from Predator, when Carl Weathers' arm gets chopped off, falls to the ground, and the gun that was in his hand keeps shooting.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

HOW IS THIS MULANEY'S FIRST HDTGM APPEARANCE?! I've only listened to about half of the episode, but he is my new favorite guest. He's just delightful.

[Elektra Boogaloo 3371]

HOW IS THIS MULANEY'S FIRST HDTGM APPEARANCE?! I've only listened to about half of the episode, but he is my new favorite guest. He's just delightful.

I wish HDTGM had the budget to bring him out to "What's New Pussycat."

[NeilMiser 19]

As soon as Peter DeLuise was mentioned, I was hoping someone would bring up how I know him: as the director of many, many episodes of Stargate SG-1! Paul claims to be a nerd who knows everything about Star Trek, but I'm a Gate fan from wayback. Peter DeLuise joined in the second or third season directing episodes, and he became one of their main guys through the remainder of the ten-season run. He liked to pull the Hitchcock trick of including himself in the background of every episode he directed. So you would see Peter DeLuise as an airman in the back of the room or his initials would be spelled out in candles reflected in a window. In one episode he directed his father, Dom DeLuise, who briefly shapeshifted into a "younger, more handsome version" of himself played by Peter himself.

[NeilMiser 19]

I wish HDTGM had the budget to bring him out to "What's New Pussycat."

 

Wouldn't it only cost seven dollars in quarters?

[FisterRoboto 7499]

 

Wouldn't it only cost seven dollars in quarters?

Threads over, folks. The new guy just won.

[NathanGordon 1096]

...and the audience interaction portion of the show continues to elicit sustained mild amusement from the podcast listeners.

 

[NeilMiser 19]

Threads over, folks. The new guy just won.

 

Wow, coming from Fister Roboto...

 

[Elektra Boogaloo 3371]

Threads over, folks. The new guy just won.

The new guy:

 

 

So I have a completely made up theory about the "Native American" characters in the movie. The [hocking up loogie sound] or whatever they were called. I don't think they're Native American. I say this because the only ones we saw were white guys with side ponytails. That doesn't make you Native American, it makes you a douche.

 

I think the were more like a nomadic group of loosely associated people, trying to live off the land together without being ruled by the e-Cops. They could move where some water was. Maybe they'd steal stuff. Their numbers would keep them safe from the bounty hunters with no horses.

 

I guess they'd be like a Mongrel horde. Or, since I'm a nerd and chose to reference fictional history instead of real history, the Dothraki from "A Song of Ice and Fire." The only reason we wouldn't believe they were a nomadic band of mixed-race people would be the weird old guy at the funhouse. That obviously stays in the same spot.

 

But I think he's like their dosh kahleen at the funhouse their Vaes dothrak.

 

Basically I just refuse to believe Adrian Pasdar is Native American. I mean so what that he has a weird spiritual connection with an owl. Maybe he's the Father of Owls. I DON'T KNOW.